(721h) Can Combined Heat and Power (CHP) be a Friend to Renewable Energy?

As the share of variable renewable energy generations rises on U.S. grids, the need for greater grid flexibility rises. Using existing combined heat and power (CHP) capacity could permit adding grid flexibility at lower cost. This study evaluates the potential use of CHP based on capacity adequacy of CHP systems. The capacity adequacy is estimated using annual- and hourly-averaged capacity factors. The potential is examined for various sectors including utility, independent power producer, commercial, and industrial sectors across seven independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission organizations (RTOs). The result shows that existing CHP systems can provide grids with a considerable amount (0.7-8.5 GW) of capacity, which accounts for 1-8% of the peak electric demand and 2-14% of the median demand in grid regions. This high level of available capacity is mainly attributed to consistently low capacity factors (<0.6) across regions and sectors. The result also revealed a consistently low utilization of CHP systems in manufacturing facilities, and an hourly-varying utilization of CHP systems in office buildings. Such a great potential of built-in flexibility in grids can minimize non-trivial incremental cost that would incur with additional power capacity.